I bought a mare about five months ago. They told me that she was five months along. She is supposed to be due in september but I squeezed her teat and milk (colostrum) came out. Does this mean she is due any day now? I read that most mares do not have milk until they are 6 days or less from foaling. Please help me, I need to know if I should be looking for her to foal any day or not.

ilovemyPhillip

08-03-2009 05:41 PM

Hmm it depends. Is she waxing? or just getting "milky"?

CheyAut

08-04-2009 05:02 AM

Some mares have milk for a month, some not until foaling :) So it's too hard to say on that alone. Do you know the signs to look for when a mare is close?

cayuseranch

08-04-2009 02:47 PM

I agree with Cheyaut. My mare had milk for a month, but it was not white until the last few days. There are many signs to look for. I recommend looking at this website, it is referrancing miniatures, but most is the same for full size.

They will begin bagging 6 weeks or so prior to being due. Within 48 hours of birth they will drip milk and it will form a "wax" appearance on the end of the teat.
The foal will also drop and shift back towards the flank area and you may notice a change in her shape in that area (fuller looking on her side at the back of her ribs and behind her flank (thigh)). He butt muscles will get blubbery and her tail will get relaxed and loose.

Fingers crossed for you.

Barrelracer Up

08-12-2009 01:06 AM

Watch "milking" her too much. That colostrum is vital to the foals survival.

kevinshorses

08-18-2009 04:42 PM

Sorry if this is indelicate but lift her tail and see if her vulva is enlarged and "sloppy" looking. I had a mare brought to me for training that the people said was just fat and then one day I looked at her and the foal had shifted and her vulva looked like a flat innertube. I called the owner and they came and got her and she foaled the same week. I wouldn't worry too much though mares foal quite well by themselves and even if you watch her she'll wait till you go for coffee or doze off to have it. A man named Hank Wisecamp raised champion Quarter horses in Colorado for 50 or 60 years and he said he saw 2 foals born in all that time.